Hood construction



June 25, 1935. w. J. HALL 2,006,163

HOOD CONSTRUCTION Filed Nov. 23, 1952 INVENTOR William (I' flail.

ATTORNEYS;

Patented June 25, 1935 noon CONSTRUCTION William J. Hall, Detroit, Mich, assignor, by mesne assignments, of thirty per cent to Ollie L. Herron, thirty per cent to Joseph B. Zimmers,

' thirty-three per cent to William J. Hall, and seven per cent to R. C. Schemmel Application November 23, 1932, Serial No. 643,968

11 Claims.

I I. ,The invention relates to hinge constructions,

and has particular, relation to a hood, and manner of hingingthe wings of the hood.

.. In certain respects the invention is related to those-embodied in my copending applications for patent Serial No. 588,566filed January 25,1932; SerialNo. 602,516 filed April 1, 1932, and Serial No. 608,282 filed April '29, 1932, all relating to lEIood:constructions.

.-- One object'of the invention is to provide a hinge constructionconnecting the swings of a hood,

wherein one of the hinge parts embodies a finishing -striplo'cated'between the hood wings and whichfis connected to one of them for; movement therewith. 1

--Another object of the'inventionis' to provide a: hingeconstr-uction for connecting the wings of a hoodjwh'erein the axis of hinging movement is laterallydisplaced with respect to the median line ofuthe hood, so as to permit providing a finishing strip on oneof the wings whichwill be located centrallyio-f the hood and movable with vsaidwingabout the axis'of the hinge.

' Another object of the invention 'is to provide a 'hoodconstruction including a relatively wide finishing"strip' extending':between the Wings of the .hood and centrallythereof, wherein the finishing strip is carried by one of the wings and is on stationary supports at the ends of the hinge.

:Andin general, it is an object of the invention to provide an improved two part hinge for pivotally connecting the wings of a hood, which will provide-an attractive finishing strip between the wings of the hood, and which can be manufactured inexpensively and as an article of manufacture for ready attachment to the hood wings.

, .Otherobjectsof the inventionwill becomeapparent fromthe following specification and the claims hereinafter set forth.

For a better understanding of the invention reference, may be had to the accompanying drawingforming a part of the specification wherein,

, Figure 1 I isa fragmentary, plan view of an automobile having a hood constructed according to one form of the invention..

,Figure 2 is a fragmentary and enlarged plan view ofthe construction showntby Figure 1, with certain parts shown in cross section. E-igureqiis across-sectional view on a larger so that in appearance both sides appear substantially the same.

scale taken substantially along theline 3--'3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary end view of the hood when removed from the automobile, illustrating more particularly the end portion of the hinge. 5

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional View; taken substantially along the lined-25 of FigureZ.

Figure 6 is an end View of the hinge.

Referring to Figures 4 and 6, hood wings in and H are iilustrated, and these wings, at their adjacent edges have inwardly turned attaching flanges H? and it. The hinge connecting .the wings of the hood comprises a male hinge memher M having an attaching flange [5 that may be welded or otherwise suitably secure'dto the flange i2 of the wing iii, and a female hinge part H which constitutes V a rolled edge portion of. a finishing strip 53. The strip l8 in the particular construction illustrated, is slightly bowedifn-ters mediate its lateral edges to provide a more attractive appearance, and at that edge opposite the hinge part ll, has a flange [9 which may be weldedor otherwise suitably secured to the flange [3 of the wing l I. It will be noted that this flange i9- is slightly offset as indicated at 20 to provide an opening 2| generally simulating the space 22 indicated at between the outer side of thefemale part i! and the junction ofthe wing N) and its flange 22, when the hood inits closed position The construction of the male and female parts I i and l 'i of the hinge is substantially identical to the construction of the male and female.v parts of the hinges illustrated and described in my copending applications previously identified. It

might also be stated here, that themale part H of; the hinge terminates at itsfreeedge in an arcuate hook portion 23 nesting in the female part of the hinge, so that when either winghas been moved to its open position this hook portion 23receives the free edge of the female hinge part H, which isindicated at 24. This is clearly illustrated in broken lines showing the wing l0-in its open position, and it will be noted that the hook portion 23 has moved into engagement with thefree. edge portion 240i the female part and that such free edge portion has-beenmoved into the hook. During hinging movement of either wing, the axis of movement will occur about a point generally located in the position indicated by the numeral25. As set forth in my previous applications for patent, also, the parts of the hinge are so constructed that in opening either wing, the male part I4 of the hinge may come into contact with the outer surface of the female part ll of the hinge to a point indicated at 26 generally, but that outwardly of this point, and as shown in broken lines, the male part of the hinge will not contact with the exposed surface of the female part so that visible and exposed surfaces of thefemale part of the hinge will not be marred or otherwise scratched during hinging movement. Also, any portion of the male part I4 visible through the opening 2 will not contact with the female part of the hinge and be'scratched during hinging movement of either wing. It will also be apparent that when either wing reaches its open position, any force or momentum tending to further open the wings will be resiliently resisted by the locking engagement betweenthe hook portion 23 and the free edge portion 24, which causes a resilient distribution of suchforce through the rolled parts of the hinge and adjacent parts of the wings. In other words, the force or momentum is cushioned circumferentially of the axisof hinging movement.

' The median line of the hood when it is. in a closed position, substantially coincides with the line 26 of the finishing strip l8 so it becomes evident that the axis of hinging movement is offset laterallyfrom the median line of the hood. When the hood wings are closed, it appears that the finishing strip I8 is stationary and that the wings l and .l I will hinge about opposite edge portions of the finishing strip, but to the contrary, the finishing strip forms part of the hinge and the axis of the hinge is at one edge thereof.

For pivotally supporting the ends of the hinge on the radiator and cowl portions of a vehicle, for example, brackets 30 are provided which may be-secured by bolts 3| to the under side of a flange 32 on the cowl and radiator. This bracket is, of course, only illustrative of a general type of bracket that may be used. The bracket is so disposed that it is in alignment with the finishing strip'portion l8 and as far as external appearances are concerned when the hood is closed, it would appear that the hood is pivotally connected to the brackets at the center thereof. However, each bracket at a point later ally offset with respect to its center, is provided with a cylindrical opening 33, and as best shown by Figures 2 and 3, the exposed end of the bracket is closed so that the-opening is not visible exterior to the hood. For pivoting the hinge in the openings 33, the male part of the hinge is extended, as indicated at 34, beyond the end of the female part, as best shown by Figure 4, and is cut away as indicated at 35, Figure 6, in order to eliminate the flange l and that portion on the male member between the flange and the cutaway point 35. Also, as best shown by Figure 6, the extending part of the male member 34 is fashioned into substantially cylindrical form by inwardly deforming that portion of the male member between substantially the point 36 and the cutaway point 35, so that the extended end of the male member may snugly, but rotatably fit in opening 33.

This deformation of the male member between the points 36 and 35 applies only to the extended ends of the male member so that the deformation will not interefere at all with the hinging of the male and female parts. It might be stated also, in accordance with my previous applications for patent that the outer surface from substantially the point 36 to the point indicated at 39 has a single radius of curvature. It is apparent there'- fore, in deforming the male portion from point 36 to the cut off edge 35,'it is only necessaryto' substantially conform this portion to the curvature of the part between points 36 and 33 and to have such parts concentric.

As shown by Fig. 6, particularly, the deformed ends of the male member are such that the male and female members may be telescopically assembled and disassembled when the members have the full line positions shown in this figure. It is evident that the gap between edges of the projecting ends is such as to allow this assembly and vdisassembly. However, as wing Ill begins and continues to open, the lower turned in edge portions of the projecting ends'of the male member pass over end faces of parts of the female member, and when the parts are so related. relative axial movement of the members is prevented. The same condition is effected when wing ll opens.

It will be noted as shownbestby Figure2,that the wings at each end extend beyond the ends of the strip I8 andare notched as indicated at 31 and 38, for permitting the wings to extend'over and embrace opposite end portions of the brackets 36. Normally the end of the finish strip will substantially abut the adjacent sides of the brackets 30 with the extended portions of the male hinge part projecting into the openings 33. This type of arrangement maintains the male and female parts of the hinge in proper axial positions and prevents axial movement, one with respect to the other during any hinging movement of either wing.

It will, of course, be appreciated from the description and illustration, as shown by Figure I particularly, that to all external appearances, the hood resembles that type having a stationary finishing strip between the wings of the hood, which ordinarily is chrome plated. To the ordinary observer, itwould not be apparent that this finishing strip is intended to move except upon opening the wing to which it is secured. When the hood is closed, it is not apparent that the axis of hinging movement is at one side of the median line of the finishing strip, nor is it apparent that this finishing strip will pivot about the offset axis. It will also be appreciated that the flanges, l2 and l3, l5, l9 extend only between the brackets, and that when the wings are closed such flanges project downwardly between the brackets.

Preferably the hinge will be manufactured as an article to be subsequently attached to the flanges, l2 and I3 of the hood wings manufactured by the motor vehicle manufacturer, and the exposed parts at least of the hinge such as the exposed surfaces of the female part, finishing strip and that part of the members visible through the openings 2| and 22, may be chrome plated or otherwise decorated to enhance the appearance of. the hood. 1

Although only one form of the invention has been illustrated and described in detail, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A hood hinge comprising a finishing strip, terminating at one edge in an attaching flange directed to one side thereof, and its other edge in a rolled edge at the same side of the strip as the flange, and a second member having an attaching flange similar'to the first flange, and a rolled edge portion hingedly cooperating with the rolled edge on the finishing strip, the axis of hinging movement of the cooperating rolled edges being substantially offset from the line median between the edges of the finishing strip.

2. In combination with a vehicle having radiator and cowl portions, a hood for the vehicle,

comprising hood wings, a finishing strip extending between the wings, means for operatively connecting the wings and finishing strip, for hinging movement about an axis offset laterally from the median line of the strip, and means for hingedly supporting the wings and strip on the radiator and cowl portions.

3. In combination with a vehicle having radiator and cowl portions, a pair of hood wings having adjacent edges disposed in substantially equally spaced relation to the median line of the cowl and radiator portions when the hood is closed, a finishing strip disposed between such edges of the wings, means connecting one wing to one edge of the finishing strip, and means for hingedly connecting the finishing strip and other wing and pivotally supporting the hood on the radiator and cowl portions, for hinging movement about an axis offset laterally from said median line.

4. In combination, a vehicle having radiator and cowl portions, a pair of hood wings, and means for hingedly connecting the wings and pivotally supporting them on the cowl and radiator for hinging movement about an axis oifset laterally from the longitudinal and vertical median plane of the cowl and radiator, the Wing at the side of the median plane opposite the axis, embodying a finishing strip extending symmetrically to opposite sides of the median plane and at the upper side of the hood when the latter is in closed position.

5. In combination, a vehicle having radiator and cowl portions, a pair of hood wings, and means including interengaging rolled edge portions at adjacent edges of the wings for hinging them on the radiator and cowl portions about a common axis offset laterally from the longitudinal and vertical median plane of the radiator and cowl.

6. A hinge comprising a generally flat and elongated strip having an attaching flange at one edge directed to one side of the strip, and having a portion at its other edge rolled toward the same side of the strip, to provide a hinge part, and a second member having a rolled portion hingedly interengaging the rolled portion on the strip, and an attaching flange directed similarly to the first flange, said flanges, with the hinge in one position, being disposed in parallel and substantially equally spaced relation to the center of the strip.

7. A hinge comprising plate members having turned, interfitting edges hingedly connecting the members, and which are assembled by longitudinally telescoping the edges, one of such edges projecting beyond the other to provide pivot portions adapted to be pivotally mounted on supports, and means on such projecting ends for preventing telescopic assembly or disassembly of the edges except when the plates are in predeter mined hinging relation.

8. A hinge comprising plate members having turned, interfitting edges hingedly connecting the members, and which are assembled by longitudinally telescoping the edges, one of such edges projecting beyond the other to provide pivot portions adapted to be pivotally mounted on supports, said projecting edges being substantially cylindrical and normally preventing telescopic assembly and disassembly of the members, but having a longitudinal gap in the walls thereof to permit assembly and disassembly of the members in a telescopic manner when they are in predetermined hinging relation.

9. A hinge comprising plate members having turned, generally spiral interfitting edges hingedly connecting the members, and which are assembled by longitudinally telescoping the edges, one of such edges projecting beyond the other to provide pivot portions adapted to be pivotally mounted on supports, and means on such projecting ends for preventing telescopic assembly or disassembly of the edges except when the plates are in predetermined hinging relation.

10. In combination with a vehicle having radiator and cowl portions, a pair of hood wings, and means for hingedly connecting the hood wings and pivotally mounting them on the radiator and cowl portions, said means comprising a finishing strip extending between adjacent edges of the wings and terminating at one edgein an attaching flange rigidly connected to one of the wings, a second member at the other edge of the strip and having a similarly directed attaching flange, means hingedly connecting the second member to said other edge of the strip, and means rigidly connecting the second attaching flange to the other wing.

11. In combination with a vehicle having radiator and cowl portions, a pair of hood wings, and means hingedly connecting the wings and pivotally mounting them on the radiator and cowl portions, said means comprising a finishing strip extending between adjacent edges of the wings and having an attaching flange at one edge rigidly connected to one of the hood wings, the other edge of the strip being rolled to provide a hinge part, and a second hinge part having a rolled edge interengaging the rolled edge of the finishing strip and having a similarly directed attaching flange rigidly connected to the other hood wing.

WILLIAM J. HALL. 

